The Rockstar Chronicles

Bridge

A tall boy with long dirty blond hair stood before us. I smiled hesitantly at him.

“They told me I should come on back,” he said. His voice was deeper than I thought it would be and had a bit of a southern twang. He tucked his hair behind one ear and grinned.

We all stared at him. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like we couldn’t just be friendly. I think there was just so much new stuff packed into one day that we were getting slower at processing it. He looks familiar, I thought. His face was narrow and a bit long, with high cheekbones and a wide, toothy smile. Where have I seen him before?

Hardyn broke the silence. “Who are you?” he asked rudely.

“Bridge Berkeley,” the boy replied as he shuffled into the room, guitar case in hand. He closed the door behind him and turned to face us once more.

I knew then who he was. Who he must be. I may not have seen him before, but I had definitely seen his features. “Are you…?” I asked, my voice trailing off. I bit my lip as I stopped. I didn’t want to embarrass him.

“Probably,” he said, taking the seat on the opposite end after propping his case against the wall.

“Who?” Grady whispered. Ryder and Hardyn looked just as confused.

“He’s Nate Berkeley’s son. Am I right?” I asked.

Bridge nodded. A look of respect came over all the boys faces, even Hardyn’s.

Nate Berkeley was one of the hottest musicians around. He had been for years. Though he had to be in his fifties, at least, he was just as popular as ever.

“So that means your mom is…?” Ryder asked.

Bridge nodded again. “Shayna Sparkes.”

I don’t know about the others, but I was in awe. Shayna Sparkes was a big time country singer. She had been a model before starting a singing career and was absolutely gorgeous. Not only that, but she came from celebrity royalty. Multiple people in her family, all the way back to her grandparents, had been involved in everything from acting to singing to modeling and more. Famous people marrying famous people, I thought.

“So you have the performance bug, too?” Hardyn asked. I couldn’t believe he was actually participating in our conversation.

“My dad is one of the investors in this band,” Bridge replied. It wasn’t until later that I realized he hadn’t answered the question.

Ryder pointed out the spread to Bridge and then all four boys concentrated wholly on the food in front of them. Well, I thought as I watched them. They may be cute and famous and rich, but they’re just like any other teenage boy. All they care about is eating.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take them long to reduce the feast to almost nothing. Only a few crumbled chips and a couple of cold slices of pizza remained. I raised my eyebrows as I surveyed the destruction with shock. I hope they budgeted plenty for food, I thought.

“Can you play that?” Ryder asked, nodding towards the guitar case as he wiped his chin with a napkin.

Bridge scratched his head, brushing back his hair. “Yeah, want to hear?” He was just lifting the case when the door opened once more. Rick, my mom, and Grant stood in the doorway.

I had never seen my mom so happy in my whole life.

“Grady, Lindy? It’s time to go. We have to settle in at our new home.”

House, I corrected her in my head. It was not my home.

“Us, too,” Grant gestured for Hardyn to join us.

My heart sank. I wasn’t quite ready to leave what promised to be a fun afternoon. But I rose from my seat without complaint, following my mom and Grady into the hall.

She turned back to the room, craning her neck to peek inside. “Oh, and Ryder?”

He looked up.

“You’re coming, too. Your parents missed their flight so you’ll be staying with one of us tonight. You and your assistant.”

Assistant?

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